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My pc has been strange for a while and getting worse. i have tried 3 online virus scans and nothing comes up. have probelms with video card, false over temp readings, monitor hangs and goes black. pc disconnects from the net. freezes totally when playing vids.
The real clue is that the bios page flashes weird characters when loading. Smilies hearts little men. Just now it dieplayed a screen full of little cards in the suit of spades and a few smilies.
is this a virus or some other problem? Appreciate any help im dying here.
If I were you, I would conduct a DOS level Antiviru scan of my system.
You can get a DOS level saccner for free at
F-Prot.comUnzip the file to your desktop and leave it on your desktop in the f-prot folder.
Hit Start ---> Run ---> Type in CMD
This will start the Command ConsoleType the following to access the F-Prot
cd desktop
cd f-prot
Now type in f-prot.exeThis will bring up the f-prot dos console
start the scan... see if it finds any virusesIf this don't find anything...
Download and run from Symantec Kill CIHThis will check for the BIOS Virus CIH.
If that fails to find anything.. then post your results back here and I will suggest other things for you to do..
Tank863
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(the W95.CIH virus cannot infect Windows NT systems)
Systems Not Affected:
Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XPSounds more like a video problem.
You'd not normally see the 'BIOS' page - that must be the POST (Power On Self Test)
Thinking - it's a habit.
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Ahh...
My next suggestion was to check Video card to see if it was seated properly.
Then to update Video Drivers...
After that.. check to see if CPU is overheating...
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I have downloaded all drivers in different combinations with no luck. Sandra says CPU1 temp is 107c, mbm5 says its 74c. I had a feel ands it not that hot. Although the heat sink is not glued to the chip or taped. Its just held in place by the fan clamps.
Will try Fprot. thanks
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Drivers won't make any difference if the vidcard is failing.
Online scans generally have pretty current AV definitions - if 3 such scans have failed to find anything...
107°C would be hotter than boiling water - some conductive paste might be an idea.
Thinking - it's a habit.
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it works ok if the advanced slider is all the way to the left. the card is ti4200 128mb. seems to work better if I disable it in device manager and use default or onboard video card.
my post page is now flashing up a nice screen of numbers squared (with the little 2 above them)
If i enter bios proper half the text is missing so it reads like
"l ad d fault v lues" for load default values.
What do you think im appreciating the advice
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You see, when you're in the BIOS or POST screens, the Operating System and drivers haven't even loaded yet - so it doesn't seem likely that the problem has anything to do with Windows at all.
People point to virus at the first sign of odd behaviour, but neither is that likely, (especially in light of all of the negative AV scans).
Sure, there are some viruses that flash the BIOS, but those are usually pretty unmistakable.Could be an overheating issue, either CPU or Graphics controller. If the onboard card works ok, that would tend to indicate a problem with the ti4200.
Maybe check for any documentation for that particular card and see if there are any known problems.
Thinking - it's a habit.
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